Astonishing. I wonder how he managed the Innaccessible Pinnacle thing on Skye. And the midges...:unsure:
I've done about 15-20 - all in my younger days the most most rewarding and most challenging been the An Teallach range up near Ullapool.
I'm about 50 short of finishing but not done many in the last 15 years. InPin isn't difficult, unless you haven't a head for heights!I've done about 100 over my life. Some of the remainder are quite inaccessible, or in my case unclimbable, like InPin.
I'm about 50 short of finishing but not done many in the last 15 years. InPin isn't difficult, unless you haven't a head for heights!
It's graded as a 'moderate' rock climb. Most people could technically manage a V diff climb without being too skillful in climbing. It is exposed though and some bits can be slippery in the wet (basalt as opposed to the nice gabbro in other parts). There are a lot of guides who'll get you up there safely.Hmm, this is from the Guardian -
"We had come to the glorious Isle of Skye, in northwest Scotland, for the most notorious mountaineering challenge in Britain: an assault on the Inaccessible Pinnacle, a hellish fin of unforgiving rock sheering up from the mighty Cuillin. A holy grail for climbers, the almost entirely rocky Cuillin is Britain’s most spectacular mountain range – and the Inpin, as the pinnacle is nicknamed, is its most coveted prize. "
I'm a walker, or hiker perhaps, not a climber. I've seen InPin in the distance, and it looked exactly like described in the Guardian. It will remain unclimbed by me, at least.
A guy died nearly died last month falling from InPin. I know my place...
Did you use ropes on the west ridge? That looks more difficult to me!It's actually objectively safer to climb the shorter/steeper side, from what I remember there was only one "hard" move and we managed to haul my (fat) mate past it. It's not exposed at all.
No, it was very exposed but easy (and dry). Wouldn't fancy down-climbing it though without a rope.Did you use ropes on the west ridge? That looks more difficult to me!
Braver than me!No, it was very exposed but easy (and dry). Wouldn't fancy down-climbing it though without a rope.
I also lead the south crack (the shorter one mentioned above) a separate time and dragged my mate up there as he didn't fancy the exposure on the west ridge.
I was younger, fearless and more importantly childless at the time.Braver than me!
I was younger, fearless and more importantly childless at the time.
When I recount some of my climbing near-death experiences to my kids they can't believe it from an old git like me.